I just realized I forgot to write this review. So it’s going to be a bit tricky having to dig back into the archives of the mind and fish out my thoughts on Hitman (2016). I had a positive experience with Hitman, but I think the episodic model would have forced me to engross myself with each level a bit more.
IO Interactive’s decision to launch the game in installments was met with controversy. I am not a big fan of the episodic model when comes to games; I waited for the entirety of StarCraft II, Life is Strange, The Walking Dead and others. In fact, the only episodic game I invested in early was the Final Fantasy VII Remake.
I essentially took a dip into each of the game’s seven levels, explored a bit, and then make my way to the finish line. I didn’t soak in these levels; I didn’t learn them or master them. I had no desire to figure out the inner workings of each one. I was content with eliminating the target in the way I wanted to and moving on.
I don’t believe I was fully appreciating the work that went into each of those levels by playing through like that. I invested more time into that single level of Hitman: Sniper on iOS than I did with any of the levels of Hitman (2016).
Hitman was a game of options. Options on how to play were present in every aspect of the game. The known Hitman qualities like costume changes, whipping a can of soup at someone to knock them out or just straight up sniping them with a high powered rifle were all here. The toolbox was wide and the sandbox was sizeable and intricate. To help navigate players through all of it, a hint system those who just want to see cool stuff happen a clear path to make that a reality. In order to lengthen my time with the game and force myself to explore the game’s levels a bit more, I chose not to rely on it. But once I had my fill, I got back to the beaten path.
Options are great, but at the same time, I think the option of waiting for the entire game to drop was a mistake for me. I think I would have obsess over each and every level a bit more if I was following the episodic release. I still enjoyed playing through Hitman, but I didn’t love it or get to know it like those who committed to IO Interactive and followed them on their weird episodic Hitman game. Hitman 2 and the upcoming Hitman 3 fall back to traditional release models, which I think is preferable for most people. However, I cannot help thinking there’s something to drip feeding content.
Verdict:
I liked it
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